In the past months, our interview series have focused on judges that ruled ancient Israel after the death of Joshua and the elders who worked with him. This period witnessed prolonged apostasy among the Israelites, intersperse with brief interludes of God’s intervention when they cried out to Him for deliverance from their oppressive neighbours. One of the people used by God as a judge to administer Israeli controlled enclaves was Tola, the son of Puah. He is here with us today to share both his personal and leadership experiences.
Shepherd Heart: Thank you for honouring our invitation Sir.
Tola: It is great to be here with you. I am glad that your generation is promoting the Kingdom of God with zeal
Shepherd Heart: Kindly give our audience a portrait of who you are.
Tola: (Laughs) Not much is recorded about me or my military exploits in the Bible. I am not bothered about that though. God is perfect and everything He does has a glorious purpose. You already mentioned my father, Puah. He was the son of Dodo from the tribe of Issachar. We lived at Shamir in Mount Ephraim and I judged Israel for 23 years, after the death of Abimelech, my predecessor.
Shepherd Heart: What was your childhood like?
Tola: I grew up in a typical Israeli household and community. Notice that I added community. Then, individualism that is pervasive among your generation was an alien culture. In ancient Israel, every child belonged to the family and the society. For instance, discipline was not limited to the family setting. Anyone in the community could discipline any erring child. I was very well behaved because my parents were disciplinarian to the core.
Shepherd Heart: Can you give us an idea of what a typical day was like during your teen years?
Tola: Hmm. We were early risers. The most significant activity was the early morning prayers. Of course, we did not have access to the Bible in print in those days. The coded laws of Moses were kept in the custody of the High Priest. After prayers, my siblings and I were assigned our household chores by my mother. Thereafter, we grazed our cattle, sheep and goats in nearby meadows,
Shepherd Heart: What was your relationship with God like at this time?
Tola: I must confess that I had no personal relationship with Him. To us, He was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We heard stories of His interventions in Egypt and the journey to the Promised Land; but these were not lived experiences.
Shepherd Heart: On what basis were you appointed a judge if you did not have a personal relationship with God?
Tola: (Laughs) You are comparing our generation with yours and that is not fair or realistic. In our time, no one could boast of having a personal relationship with God. Yes, we worshipped Him; but we never saw Him in the light of the gospel of Yeshua, which essentially presents God as a Father figure.
Shepherd Heart: So, how did you worship Him then?
Tola: To be candid, God was a distant entity that we interacted with through the guidance of the High Priests and other people entrusted with His oracles. We offered our sacrifices as at when due and we prayed in the morning and evening; as well as during special occasions like weddings.
Shepherd Heart: How were you selected to be a judge?
Tola: After the death of Abimelech, there was a leadership vacuum. Not many people were excited about taking up the responsibility of leading Israel at this time. For one, the twelve tribes were scattered and sometimes at each other’s throat. Our adversaries also capitalised on the lack of effective leadership to raid our communities at will. Some elders of the tribes subsequently met and pleaded with me to assume leadership, which I did.
Shepherd Heart: You ruled Israel for 23 years, which I consider a feat given the prevailing circumstances, especially infighting among the twelve tribes. What was your motivation?
Tola: Someone needed to take care of God’s flock and I was opportune to do so. I considered it an honour really, because there were other young men my age whom I thought were better than myself in all respect.
Shepherd Heart: (Smiles) I can see why they chose you. In my opinion, humility is at the heart of true leadership. The problem with our generation is that pride and arrogance have been exalted as prerequisites for leadership, with disastrous results. The Hitlers of this world fed on the adulation of people who scoffed at humility and exalted arrogance. More than 6 million Jews paid the price for this inversion of reality.
Tola: I agree with you. In our days, leaders earned respect for their contribution to the good of the society. Therefore, being puffed up with pride was not something attractive or worth emulating. However, the pagan nations around us had different cultural outlook and leadership traits. Their kings were vicious and blood thirsty to the extreme. Israel started copying their ways when we abandoned God and embraced their idols.
Shepherd Heart: Idolatry serves no useful purpose whether under the Old or New Dispensation. In your days, this was symbolised by fabricated gods that represented demonic entities. Now, our idols are diverse and not necessarily directly linked to carved wood or stones. Some of us exalt our careers, marriages, physical appearances, children etc. above the true God. How were you able to stop your people from embracing the idols of neighbouring countries?
Tola: The first thing I did after I was appointed a judge was to meet with the High Priest to map out modalities for re-educating the people to be loyal to the God of their fathers. I also delegated leadership functions to elders of the respective communities to ensure active participation in governance. These elders were also spiritual leaders in their own areas.
Shepherd Heart: I think that worked for you because your people were not only disciplined, but were also ready to be corrected and guided by leaders at the various levels. Do you think that this kind of leadership style would be effective in the church of Jesus Christ?
Tola: Discipline is a core ingredient of governance in both spiritual and temporal realms. The reason you are having issues with it in the church is that most people who call themselves believers hate to be corrected or disciplined. This is due to their tendency to exalt their desires above that of God and His Kingdom. The King is the most important person in a Kingdom and His will overrides that of his subjects. If believers actually understand this concept, they would not have problems surrendering their wills to God. A surrendered will is a basic requirement for the exercise of self-discipline. A person who is lord over his own life cannot be an effective disciple of Jesus Christ. Let us face it. Why would anyone claim to be His disciple and refuse to do His will?
Shepherd Heart: How can this issue be addressed in the church?
Tola: First thing first. Let every Christian take time to study the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. What kind of a leader was He? What was His relationship with the Father? Some of you like to quote the Scripture, “As He is so are we in this world”. I think that is found in I John 4:17. Jesus was totally submitted to the will of the Father. He said in Mathew 16:24, “If any one desires to follow Me, let him renounce self and take up his cross and follow Me.” Renouncing the self-life means to let go of your own will. Yeshua did that as recorded in Philippians 2:5-8, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” What the church of Christ needs is not more anointed men, but more people with the heart of a servant. Satan does not have respect for power that flows from arrogance because that is his nature and domain. He cannot withstand the spirit of the Lamb, which is humility because he does not know how to deal with it.
Shepherd Heart: Thank you very much for these inspiring words. I pray that they would resonate with our readers and cause them to seek the humility of Christ.
Tola: The pleasure is mine.